Complications
by Chyrstis
Summary: Shaundi's got a bone to pick with the people involved with her show. -pre-SR3-


Based off of a prompt given for Grant/Shaundi - frustrated. I've been meaning to pin down their dynamic leading up to the Third for a bit, and after thinking about it last night managed to get something down for them today. Many thanks to autumnyte for the sweep for errors!

* * *

"...Again. They're doing it again!"

Grant looked up from his desk in time to catch Shaundi's entrance, along with her dark scowl. His eyebrows went up, and he watched as she rounded his desk and pulled open the drawer to his right. After flipping through the papers there, she dropped them, shoved it closed, and yanked open the one below it. She made an aggravated sound a moment later, and when she stood up and pretended to choke the air, Grant cleared his throat.

"Something you need, love?"

"Yes," she replied, through clenched teeth. "That fucking exec's neck in my hands as I strangle the life out of him, but I'll settle for dreaming about it. Oh, that asshole's going to get it."

"For...?"

"Ruining the schedule. Again. The guys they've got lined up for the show were supposed to be in Stilwater today so we could start going over more promos. They had already drafted this months ago when we first went over the summer special, but they blew it." Her hand swept in front of her in a vicious arc. "Completely pulled the rug out from under us before we could do anything about it, and now I can't even find the fucking planner so I can throw it at them!"

_Summer special?_ Grant vaguely remembered Shaundi and Pierce going over it before, but couldn't draw up any details. "What happened?"

"They didn't let every cast member know, only the handful that tested well with audiences, and of those they've invited, one's already been forced to drop out to make space for another contestant. What is this, a game show?" she asked, throwing her hands up. "You don't pull these kinds of things in the middle of filming a season!"

"A dating show does tend to follow a similar structure-"

"Oh, don't." Shaundi spun on him, and his mouth snapped shut. "Don't you even try to argue that one with me. They want this to be a damn circus, and I'm not going to fucking stand for it! But some days it's" - she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly - "some days it is kind of a joke. And I really don't want it to become any more of one than it already is."

His eyes didn't leave her as she stood there, irritated, wound up, and fed up, and Grant felt his hands clench. "Shaundi?"

"I'm fine. Just...I can do this, boss, I know it. I just needed a moment to vent, and you were here, and...yeah." She relaxed her posture, and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry for coming at you like that."

"It's never a problem," he replied softly, meaning every word of it.

"I know, but you were pretty set on doing whatever it was you were doing before I came in, and I just couldn't see straight." Her mouth twisted as she paced back and forth, but only tensed more as the seconds ticked by. "And I'm still pissed. Yeah, seriously pissed. Dammit. How the hell am I even going to get through this later?"

She crossed her arms with a huff, and Grant tried to come up with something. Anything. Then it hit. He pushed the mug on his desk towards her, and tried to catch her eye. "Here." Shaundi gave the cup of tea a questioning glance, and he gestured towards it. "I think you might need it more than me."

The incredulous glance remained when he gave the cup another small nudge, but he didn't miss the way her attention kept on going back to it, or the way her teeth teased at her lip. "What kind did you pick?"

"It's the one with that strange fruit in it, the speckled one."

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "It's called dragonfruit."

Which happened to be one of her favorites, he recalled. "Eh, semantics. Either way it's yours if you want it."

She tapped her foot for a few seconds as she considered it, but after eying it almost longingly, she took it with a smile. "Thanks, boss." The small sip turned into a larger one, and he watched her sigh as she let it sink in. By the third, her shoulders relaxed, and once she was done he found it difficult to believe she had stormed in like she had.

"Better?"

"Yeah. I still want to ring Lou's neck, but his odds of making it through the next meeting have gone up dramatically. You might've saved a man's life today."

Grant shrugged, but returned a bit of her grin. "I hope he puts it to good use."

"I doubt it, but I'll make damn sure he stays on track this time. Because we still have to go over the changes and figure out what to..." Her eyes widened, and she dug for her phone to check the time. "Oh, wait. Wait a minute. I could be doing that right now. He's still at the studio, what am I doing?"

Shaundi put the mug back on the desk in a hurry, but paused and took in Grant's amused expression before darting forward. The small kiss to his cheek was light, but lingered, and her lips brushed his cheek a second time before he turned his head to move his eyes over her.

"Really. Thanks," she said, smiling softly as she withdrew.

Grant stared after her, and it wasn't until the sound of her heels had faded that he let go of the breath he had been holding.


End file.
